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Two things happened this month that changed how paid search works.
One is loud. One is quiet. Both matter.
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1. Google Is Killing Dynamic Search Ads
Google announced on April 15th, that Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets, and campaign-level broad match are all being upgraded to AI Max.
Voluntarily now. Automatically in September.
After September, you can't create new DSA campaigns at all.
What AI Max actually does differently:
Uses real-time intent signals beyond just your landing page content
Generates and customizes ad text, headlines, and final URLs with AI
Adds brand controls, location controls, and text guidelines DSA never had
Google says advertisers using the full AI Max suite see 7% more conversions at similar CPA/ROAS compared to search term matching alone.
The move: Don't wait for the auto-upgrade. Switch now so you control the setup. If you wait until September, Google picks your settings for you.
Read Google's full announcement:
2. The Quiet Shift: LLMs Moved Your Funnel
CPCs are up. CTRs are down. And the instinct is to optimize harder - test more, bid more, push more.
That's the wrong response.
The reason paid search feels harder isn't because it's broken. It's because it's no longer where the buyer journey starts.
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews: they're all shaping decisions before someone ever types a search query. By the time a user hits Google, they already know what they want.
That means:
Higher intent per search (good)
Fewer searches overall (bad if you only fish here)
Less browsing behavior (bad if your strategy depends on discovery)
Paid search didn't get worse. It moved down the funnel. It's now a capture tool, not a discovery tool.
The brands winning right now? They build awareness and influence in AI platforms first, then use paid search to close.
The new playbook:
Influence (AI visibility) → Demand (content + social) → Capture (paid search)
Your Action Step This Week
Do this 10-minute check:
| ☐ | Open ChatGPT and Google AI Mode |
| ☐ | Ask the question your best customer would ask before buying |
| ☐ | See who shows up in the AI answer |
| ☐ | Now check — are you running paid search to capture that same demand? |
If you're spending on paid search but invisible in AI answers, you're paying to catch fish downstream while your competitors are upstream poisoning the river.
Fix the top first. Then paid search works harder for less.
Two shifts. One theme.
Google is pushing everyone toward AI-powered campaigns whether you're ready or not. And LLMs are reshaping where buying decisions actually start.
The advertisers who adapt to both will spend less and convert more. Everyone else will keep wondering why their CPC keeps climbing.
JOIN US LIVE: LET'S BREAK THIS DOWN TOGETHER
Here's what nobody's telling you about AI Max: it works - but only if you set the guardrails first. Without the right negative keyword strategy, brand exclusions, and URL controls in place, AI Max will spend your budget fast on traffic that doesn't convert. We've already seen the wins AND the expensive mistakes.
We’re going deeper on both of these shifts at the next Scaledon Live session.
When: Wednesday, May 7th at 12:00 PM EST
We’ll walk through:
What's working, what's burning your budget
The exact guardrails you need before enabling AI Max.
Live Q&A - bring your campaigns, we’ll give you specific feedback
No fluff. No pitch deck. Just the playbook.
Talk soon,
Iulia Vasciuc CEO, ScaledOn |
P.S. This is the session you don't want to miss, plus, after the session, we'll share our AI Max launch playbook so you can roll it out the right way. Don't wait to figure this out the hard way. Save your spot →
